The Green Bay Packers and New York Jets are still working out the details of a trade that will send Aaron Rodgers to the AFC East. There has been a great deal said about what the Packers should be asking for in return for the four-time MVP. One NFL insider, though, had an interesting statement on the negotiations from the Jets’ perspective.
In his recent weekly column, “Football Morning in America,” NBC Sports’ Peter King wrote the following regarding the Rodgers-Packers-Jets scenario:
“I think the more I hear about the Jets’ pursuit of Aaron Rodgers, the more it’d scare me—unless, and this is a big ‘unless’—it involves at least a verbal agreement that he plays in 2024 as well.”
Perhaps King heard a little bit of what the rest of the public learned Monday when Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst spoke to the media. In his interview, he denied Rodgers’ story on The Pat McAfee Show of how things went down between himself and the front office. Instead, Gutekunst said that Rodgers refused to answer his attempts to talk about the 2023 season.
In other words, the Packers committed to Rodgers through the 2024 season when they gave him his three-year $150 million contract. Rodgers, however, was not committed to the Packers for that long, and may not be committed to the Jets for that long either. As Rodgers himself stated, he was leaning heavily towards retirement when he started his darkness retreat.
The Jets will almost certainly get Rodgers for just one year, so it is understandable why they are hesitant to give up a first round pick for him. Of the compensation that the Packers may or may not get, King wrote:
“The Jets now hold the 42nd and 43rd picks, one of which is likely to be used in the trade for Aaron Rodgers. Say that happens. Say the 42nd pick goes to Green Bay. Then the Jets pick, overall, 13th and 43rd … and then not again till midway through the fourth round, 112th”
Many Green Bay fans have been clamoring for the Packers to get that 13th overall pick or the Jets’ two second round picks. However, from the Jets’ perspective, that may be too much to give up for just one season. Given the fact that the Jets could end up with just two picks inside of the top 100 of the draft, they are taking a huge risk even if they give up just one of those second round picks.
No wonder it would scare some people.
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